Bark

“Some of the incredible trees you witness upon entering…”

Hot off the press. This swirling, whirling dervish of a tree would be hard not to notice, even at the World Bonsai Convention where the competition is just a little stiff. Some people have all the luck. These photos were taking at the World Bonsai Convention (happening as we speak) by Mark Field. Here’s Mark’s brief comment… “Some of the incredible trees you witness upon entering the show!” Okay Mark, now you’ve got our attention… ROSHI TOOLS NOW 30% OFF 25% 30% off Roshi Bonsai Tools plus an extra 10% off orders 100.00 or more Sale includes all of our … Continue reading “Some of the incredible trees you witness upon entering…”

World Bonsai Convention, Kimura & Green T Turntables

Massive Mugo pine resting comfortably on a Green T professional bonsai turntable. The prize winning tree belongs to Paolo Riboli. The turntable could belong to you. I just heard from Marco Invernizzi, a long time student of world famous bonsai master Masahiko Kimura (aka The Magician) – and someone we have featured here on Bonsai Bark many times over the years – who informed us that he was at Kimura’s place last week where Green T turntables are used every day by Master Kimura and his apprentices (past and present) . Green T is also an official sponsor of the … Continue reading World Bonsai Convention, Kimura & Green T Turntables

Boon & His Bonsai Friends

This Satsuki azalea’s trunk reminds me of some of Antoni Gaudi’s sculptural architecture that graces the great city of Barcelona. Though in truth, the tree resides in Boon Manakitivipart’s impressive bonsai collection in the great city of Alameda, California (birthplace of yours truly, btw). The last week of April and first week of May are peak digging and transplanting season around here, so to save some time, it’s back to our archives. This one is from October, 2010 (with some revisions today). Boon Manakitivipart is one of North America’s most influential bonsai artists and teachers. Several of his students have … Continue reading Boon & His Bonsai Friends

Spring Bonsai Power

Norway spruce spring power is Mauro Stemberger’s title for this series of photos. What caught me about this tree is how natural it looks. As in the case of most of the best bonsai, you know that it has been styled, but styled in a way that you might call just so. Or just enough. Welcome to another Bonsai Europe post (six of our last ten posts have featured European bonsai). It’s not that we don’t appreciate what’s going on in the rest of the world… it’s just that from where we sit it seems like the center of Bonsai … Continue reading Spring Bonsai Power

Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Wild Trees

After. This sweet little Shimpaku and the one below were posted by Bjorn Bjorholm. The before photos for both trees are at the bottom of the post. Just spent late yesterday digging Larches (they’re called Tamaracks around here) on a friend’s land, and now I need to get them into the ground right away, so we’ll save time by borrowing from our archives. This one originally appeared August, 2014. Before I make another mistake and look foolish in the process, here’s my disclaimer for this post: I don’t know for a fact the origin of the bonsai shown here. Much … Continue reading Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Wild Trees

How Much Would You Pay for a Bonsai?

Would you pay 6,000 dollars (5,500 euros) for this bonsai? How does someone who wants to sell a bonsai arrive at a price and how does someone who wants to buy that bonsai decide if that price is fair? There really are no firm guidelines on valuing bonsai, at least that I know of. The best I can say is the value of a bonsai depends on what at least one person is willing to pay. Unless of course, you’re in the business of buying and selling bonsai. Then there are at least two values involved. The three trees shown … Continue reading How Much Would You Pay for a Bonsai?

Bark, Deadwood & the Ravages of Time

I’ve long been fascinated by close ups. Especially shots of deadwood and bark with their richly illustrated stories of time and the elements. Sunday morning. Crocuses, peepers in the pond and pure unobstructed sun. Time to get outside. So rather than taking the time to put together another new post, we’ll borrow from our archives. This one originally appeared in March, 2015. All the photos shown here are by Salvador De Los Reyes. I believe that all but one are of his trees (here and here are couple earlier Bark posts that feature Salvador’s bonsai). You can view more photos … Continue reading Bark, Deadwood & the Ravages of Time

Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Here’s what Harry Harrington has to say about this impressive tree, and in particular it’s recovery and transformation from what you see in the photo below… “This is probably the best example I have of the usefulness of anti-transpirant, an Itoigawa juniper bonsai that came to me in a very bad way a couple of years ago, and was sprayed with anti-transpirant once a month to reduce further moisture loss from the leaves while it recovered and grew new roots. (Second image is from just 6 months later after styling).” We’ve been featuring Harry Harrington a lot these days. Part … Continue reading Bonsai Before & After – Transforming a Badly Damaged Tree

Bonsai by Tickle

As you can see by the copyright, this muscular Myrtle belongs to Tony Tickle. So do the rest of the trees in this post (provided Tony hasn’t sold them) It’s been a while since we visited Tony Tickle, a man with a distinctive name and some very distinctive bonsai. All the photos shown here are from Tony’s Bonsai & Yamadori blog. If you want more, here’s your link to some earlier Bark posts that feature Tony’s bonsai   The Growing Season Has Begun time to feed your bonsai 25% off All of our Bonsai Fertilizers sale ends Sunday at 11:59pm … Continue reading Bonsai by Tickle

Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

You don’t see that many Ginkgos bonsai and when you do, they’re usually not this good. A couple things that stand out are the brilliance of the new leaves and how that brilliance is reinforced by the green moss, the green pot and even the barely perceptible little green buds on the trunk. And then there’s the perfect little trunk that looks a bit like a termite mound. I borrowed the photo from Bill Valavanis’ blog, Welcome to My Bonsai World. Getting a late start today, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one originally appeared in June, 2015 … Continue reading Straight Up & Tightly Bunched